Response to Octavia Butler's Blood Child

1.what is your reaction to the text you just read?

My first reaction to the book may have been shock, as it took time for me to consume what is actually going on in the whole story. The story has made the imagery of ‘death’ to look as if it is an imagery of ‘birth’, as the worms and larvae we normally imagine to be feeding on dead bodies are described in this story as an egg of a species, going through a parasitical birth process using human bodies as hosts.

Although the story itself is very shocking and somewhat brutal, it softens it up by making it seem like a ‘cultural’ aspect within the world of the story. Generations of implanting eggs and parasitical birth procedures, and yet the somewhat harmonious atmosphere between the two different species makes it look like a ritual that is meant to take place. In fact, the author’s choices of names are distant from the western mainstream names but more of an cultural asian, maybe a tribal Indian one. The idea of the ’implantation of worms’ becomes reinforced as a cultural ritual by the structures of colonization.

2.What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.

The connections that I’ve made towards the story is the structure of the world itself, especially maybe the situation that is quite similar to colonization. Korean culture has also went through a history of colonization, and during that time there have been people who resisted and people who gave in. The response of Gan reminded me of this history of colonization and the different responses, as Gan himself showed a rebellious spirit towards T’Gatoi, however later giving in as he hopes to protect his sister from being impregnated with worms that may harm her. It all looks like the repetition of colonial history as even for the storyline in Blood Child also relies heavily on the matter of survival - although it is not the best choice, the human race gives into providing themselves as hosts for the Tlic, in order to survive harmoniously on the Tlic planet.

3.What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

I think that Blood Child would make a nice short film. As the story itself has a lot of dialogue and communication between characters in such a short span, I think that providing additional visuals through the form of a film would bring the whole story to another level. Some changes I would make would be the chronological order or the opening scene, as short films may be better to have a powerful opening with interesting visuals to catch the audience’s attention.